For New Patients
Call 502-562-4266 or 502-562-HOPE (4673).
For Referring Physicians
We work with providers around the country to deliver the best possible care to their patients. We consult with referring physicians before, during and after the treatment process.
To arrange a consultation or make a referral, call our program directly at 502-562-4266 or call the cancer center at 502-562-HOPE (4673).
At UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center, our Blood Cancers, Cellular Therapeutics and Transplant (BCT) Program offers:
- Multidisciplinary expertise: Our team of doctors, which may include surgeons, oncologists, hematologists (blood specialists) and radiation oncologists, will work together to develop an effective and personalized treatment plan for you. In addition, specially trained oncology nurses care for you before, during and after treatment, help manage clinical trials and provide education about what to expect. Because transplant and cellular therapy can often be complex, we have specific nurse coordinators who will guide you through the process.
- Convenient care: We are one of only two adult cancer centers in the region that offers a stem cell transplant program. This means you can receive state-of-the-art care without leaving the Kentuckiana region. Patients who live locally and have good family support may also be eligible to have a transplant on an outpatient basis, rather than having an extended stay in the hospital.
- Specialized inpatient facility: We maintain a 16-bed specialty care unit at UofL Hospital. Physicians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays and weekends. Each room is private and equipped with complete monitoring systems that allow staff to continually check your progress. A HEPA-filtered air handling system, special flooring, and copper fixtures with antimicrobial properties help protect patients from infection. Each room also includes a private restroom and many include a sleeping area for family members so they can be of support along the way. Those who need extended stays even have access to a kitchenette and laundry facilities.
- Support services: Brown Cancer Center offers a wide variety of support services for you and your family including social work, cancer rehabilitation, financial counseling, palliative care and a unique survivorship program. The SOAR On: Loyd Family Wellness Program helps connect patients and families to these services needed to achieve the best possible experience, and also provides a wide variety of educational resources, therapies and classes.
- Long-term care: We closely follow our patients after transplant to ensure success. We partner with your referring doctor throughout the entire transplant process, from pre-transplant evaluation to the transplant procedure to post-transplant follow-up care. Learn more about stem cell transplant and cellular therapy.
- Internationally accredited: Our Blood Cancers, Cellular Therapeutics and Transplant Program is internationally accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), the gold standard of excellence for blood and bone marrow transplant programs in the United States.
Blue Distinction Center+
UofL Hospital and Brown Cancer Center has been designated a Blue Distinction Center+ for Transplants for Adult Bone Marrow/Stem Cell by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated hospitals that show expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community.
In 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program was launched to help patients find quality health care facilities for their specialty care needs while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers for Transplants designation, a hospital must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety criteria as well as transplant-specific quality measures (including survival metrics) in one or more of the following transplant types: adult heart, adult lung, adult deceased donor liver, adult living donor liver, adult pancreas, pediatric heart, or pediatric liver, or either adult or pediatric autologous/allogeneic bone marrow/stem cell transplant.
Quality is key. Only those hospitals that first meet Blue Distinction’s nationally-established, objective quality measures will be considered for designation as a Blue Distinction Center+.
UofL Hospital and Brown Cancer Center are proud to be recognized for meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center+ quality and cost selection criteria for transplant centers set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
"Cellular therapy and transplant are rapidly changing fields with many new innovations every year," Mohamed Hegazi, M.D., division chief for the program at Brown Cancer Center, said. "Patients who undergo therapy in such programs need assurance that their therapy has been up to the most rigorous standards. Accreditation by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy Programs (FACT) and achievement of Blue Distinction is clear evidence of our commitment to these highest standards. Our entire team is reviewing these quality goals in the standard operating procedures we use every day and the results are clear from our quality reports compiled by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR)."
Although rare, the number of transplants – including heart, lung, liver, pancreas and bone marrow/stem cell – have increased in recent years. There have been over 26,000 organ transplant procedures performed in the U.S. so far in 2017, and more than 116,000 people are awaiting organ donations for transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. In 2017, the average cost for a single organ/tissue transplant was about $748,890 per transplant and $1,730,533 per transplant for a multiple organ transplant, according to Milliman Research Report, “2017 U.S. Organ and Tissue Transplant Cost Estimates and Discussion.”
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the nation have recognized more than 130 hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers+ for Transplants. Hospitals recognized with this designation are assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from BCBS companies’ medical claims.
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, maternity care, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that, compared to other hospitals, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. On average, Blue Distinction Centers+ are also 20 percent more cost-efficient than non-Blue Distinction Center+ designated hospitals.
For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, please visit BCBS.com/BlueDistinction.
About Our Program
The Blood Cancers, Cellular Therapeutics and Transplant Program at UofL Hospital and UofL Brown Cancer Center started in 1988 and cares for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other disorders. The program was one of the first in Kentucky and even the surrounding states. The program is fully accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), and participates in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).
The mission of the hematologic malignancies/blood and marrow transplantation division is to provide the unparalleled quality of services to our patients that match their values and belief through compassionate care and innovative sciences.
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria.
National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on BCBS.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.
